Thanks to Detroit's 4-3 overtime win in Colorado on Monday night, veteran goaltender Chris Osgood recorded the 400th victory of his 17 year NHL career that has seen him make two different stops in the motor city, as well as brief stints with the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues. Osgood was sensational on the night, stopping 46 of the 49 pucks he faced, including all 23 Colorado threw his direction in the second period where the Avalanche held a 14-shot advantage. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall scored the winner in overtime to give Osgood the milestone, while Detroit also received goals from Nicklas Lidstrom, Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler as it continues to find ways to win games despite the recent pile of injuries the team has experienced (Mike Modano, Pavel Datsyuk, Dan Cleary).
Now one of just 10 goaltenders to ever win 400 games in the NHL, joining a list that includes Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph, Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante, Tony Esposito, Glenn Hall and Grant Fuhr, the Hall of Fame debate will be picked up once again for Osgood.
Working in his favor are the raw numbers. Of the nine goaltenders ahead of him on the All-Time wins list, six of them are already enshrined in Toronto. The only ones who are not: Brodeur (he is a slam dunk lock once he's eligible), Belfour and Joseph. He's also been a starter on two Stanley Cup winning teams and split playing time with Mike Vernon on a third, all of which came as a member of the Red Wings.
Working against him: he was never "great." Osgood is a player that's been very good for an extended period of time and compiled some huge numbers in the process. He was never dominant, nor was he ever considered one of the best goalies in the league during his career. He also had most of his success on some loaded Red Wings teams which will surely be used as part of the argument against him.
The debate comes down to whether or not you prefer shorter periods of domination (Example: Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros) or long periods of very good play (Example: Osgood), and how much the Detroit machine had to do with his success. If you prefer the former, the Hall of Fame answer is a no. If you like the latter ... he has a shot.
Here's video of Kronwall's game-winning goal, and the celebration around Osgood...
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